THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH

BIBLE CLASS STYLE LESSONS.

Romans 1:16-17 For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation
for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of
God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The
just shall live by faith.”

All articles are written
using the NKJV, unless
otherwise noted! All articles are written by David Hicks, unless specified
otherwise.

Witnesses to Me

To The End of the Earth!

- A Study
In Acts-

Chapter Three –
Healing the Lame Man – 2nd Gospel Sermon

ACTS 3:1-11:

In our last lesson, we concluded the preaching of the first Gospel sermon of
Jesus as Lord and Christ, the results, the continued teaching of the
Apostles of Jesus Christ, and the results. Chapter three is a continuation
of the work of the Apostles, focusing on Peter and John.

Text #1:

Acts 3:1-3
“Now
Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the
ninth hour.
2
And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid
daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from
those who entered the temple;
3
who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.”

Ninth Hour:
The temple was a regular meeting place for the Apostles and disciples (Luke
24:53;
Acts 2:46).
There were two times a day set aside by many of the Jews at this time, to
pray. The morning hour of prayer was the third hour (approx. 9 AM), and the
evening hour for prayer was the ninth hour of the day (approx. 3 PM).

There was several reason for going to the temple daily. First was that it
accommodated large groups of people for the purpose of teaching. Second, was
that there were already many people there for prayer in order to seek
audience for the purpose of preaching of the Gospel.

Lame Man:
As Peter and John traveled to the temple, they cross paths with a man
described by Luke as, “Lame from his
mother’s womb”. He is laid daily at a specific gate of the temple;
carried by others, for the purpose of begging alms (alms were gifts given in
pity or mercy). In
chapter 4 and verse 22,
we learn that this lame man had been this way for over forty years.

We learn in
verse 10
that he had come to this location for so long that all the people knew him
and his condition.

The “Beautiful” gate, which this
man sat daily begging, was a gate of the temple identified with a passage
from the court of the Gentiles to the court of the women, inside the temple
complex. The temple complex becomes more restrictive as one gets closer to
the Most Holy Place; however, from this vantage point, this man would have
access to men and women, and proselyte and natural born devout Jews.

Text #2:

Acts 3:4-8
“And
fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.”
5
So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
6
Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give
you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
7
And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately
his feet and ankle bones received strength.
8
So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with
them—walking, leaping, and praising God.”

Previously, in
chapter 2 and verse 43,
we are told that many wonders were done by the Apostles of Jesus as signs.
Here is a specific wonder performed, which would have a very specific result
at the conclusion; however, before we move to the specific results, let’s
look at some of the unique characteristics of this specific wonder.

1.
In the name of Jesus

By the authority of Jesus, or by His power. Peter did not attempt to perform
this sign by any self- prescribed authority, or power of his own. Also note
that he didn’t ask the man if he wanted to walk; he commanded him to walk.

2.
Raised Him Up

There is no indication in the man that is healed of any faith or prior
knowledge of Jesus Christ, nor was he looking to Peter and John for healing;
he was looking for money. The man did not get up at the command, but had to
be raised up in order to begin to comprehend what had been done.

3.
Walking, Leaping, and Praising

There was far more to this miracle than healing his legs. The man had been
in this condition from the womb; in other words he had never developed the
motor skills necessary to walk, let alone to leap. The art of walking only
comes from a development of motor skills, which once trained, can be
recalled without thought. We see this in some stroke victims who have had
that specific part of their brain effected in the stroke. Learning how to
walk all over again is a time developed skill to regain. However, this man
was able to do all these things immediately!

Peter did not take credit for the healing of the man, nor did the man credit
Peter for the blessing, but rightly gave the glory to God!

Text #3:

Acts 3:9-10
“And
all the people saw him walking and praising God.
10
Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of
the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had
happened to him.”

This healing was not a slight of hand, or pre-planted unknown individual.
Everyone knew him and his condition for many, many years. There was no
possibility for deception. Even the enemies of the Apostles would not be
able to deny this act (see:
Acts 4:16),
and would be evident to everyone in Jerusalem as this news spread. The
amazement of the people caused them to be open to an explanation of this
miracle (specific purpose of the miracle)!

Text #4:

Acts 3:11
“Now
as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran
together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed.”

Solomon’s Portico:
The porch of Solomon is not an accurate description of this specific portion
of the temple complex. In architecture a “porch” is strictly an exterior
structure forming a covered approach to the entrance of a building; a
“portico” is an ambulatory (A
covered place for walking), consisting of a roof supported by columns placed
at regular intervals, a roofed colonnade!

Solomon’s
Portico was that running along the eastern wall in the court of the Gentiles
of Herod’s temple. It had double columns, while on the south wall, known as
the Royal Portico had four rows.

We find the
Solomon’s Portico mentioned in John 10:23; and in
Acts
5:12 as well.